Chemical High for MegaPointes

EVENT FOCUS

CHEMICAL HIGH FOR MEGAPOINTES

At forefront of inventive, interesting and infectiously rhythmic electronic music for nearly 30 years The Chemical Brothers returned to UK arenas, fusing effervescent ideas with vintage visuals in one of their most impressive production designs to date.

On the back of a hectic festival schedule, followed by a week of highprofile headline shows. The Chemical Brothers delighted crowds with a fantastic visual experience created by Adam Smith and Marcus Lyall.

The Show Designers decision to specify 50 Robe MegaPointe fixtures led to Blackburn-based lighting rental company Lite Alternative making its first investment in Robe moving lights.

The Chemical Brothers are well known for their interactive, eye-catching and entertaining visual shows, a perfect confluence of lighting and video which, with the band’s preference to remain in silhouette, is a significant element of all their live performances.

The electronic music duo’s shows are renowned for their high production values and for not comprising on the end result. The Chemical Brothers is also a desirable tour to be on and the crew and their friendly vibes are kept running smoothly and efficiently by Production Manager, James Baseley.

Smith and Lyall both have interesting careers. The former is a wellknown film and TV drama director, while the latter creates art projects,

many of them using lighting and other visual media. Together as SmithandLyall the two have been involved in multiple imaginative projects including - since the early ‘90s - The Chemical Brothers.

Both originally coming from filmic backgrounds has given rise to a highly individual cinematic styling for their live music visual work; the lingering narratives and introduction of characters with whom the audience connect and identify.

The Chemical Brother’s visual show is crafted with a script and a strong sense of theatricality. While they play the same set every night, each performance is unique as they constantly re-mix and improvise from their centre-stage hub; a heterogeneous laboratory of rare and unusual synths and other fascinating music apparatus.

Smith and Lyall receive the music in advance of the tour and start planning the looks, styling and ambiences from there. Together with a team of visual artists create all the video elements taking the peaks and dips in the music as start points, developing ideas which will fit, some segueing from one section or song to the next, others involving a completely fresh

16

CHEMICAL BROTHERS

Robe MegaPointes make their presence felt on tour with The Chemical Brothers.

start for a new piece of music.

The essence of the show design is about connecting with the audience and helping move the energy coming offstage out and all around the space, creating that big, immersive environment and serotonin-synchronised place at the heartbeat of The Chemical Brothers show.

And while it is essentially all about the visuals in terms of what is happening onscreen, the lighting plays an a vital supporting role that must be bang on – every cue that’s programmed and executed.

With the new album still in the works, these latest shows featured a mix of favourites and new work.

For this run of own-shows, all in arena venues, a large 20m-wide by 11m-high LED screen filled the upstage area, with the 50 Robe MegaPointes – which were also part of their festival package – as the main lightsources. “We wanted beam lights,” explained Lyall. “The show is all about beams, and MegaPointes are the perfect lightsource to reach out and touch the audiences and help draw them into the show.”

When it came to the actual decision on which moving lights to choose, there were a few other criteria as well, including good CMY colour mixing and brightness, both needed for impact and to reinforce the visuals. Lite Alternative – The Chemical Brothers’ lighting supplier since 2015 - organised a shootout between three different types of moving light, all potential contenders including the Robe MegaPointe, and from this it was chosen as the best option to add all the right elements to their design.

A total of 12 Robe MegaPointes each were positioned in lines along the upstage and downstage edges of the stage, with another 12 rigged on the downstage truss. There were another ten behind the LED wall, rigged onto 5 moving pods together with some LED battens.

The pods flew up and down with lights shining and blasting through the screen, adding an ephemeral mysterious touch and another layer of optical depth and texturing to this very multi-faceted picture.

Robe MegaPointes were joined on the rig by a load of strategically placed strobes, some LED washes, LED squares and battens, plus a 30-Watt full colour laser, a 30-Watt green laser and 22 Kinect beam lasers, supplied

by ER Productions.

From a rental company perspective, it was a major move for Lite Alt to invest in Robe – although some PATT2013’s had previously managed to sneak into the rental stock.

However, Lite Alt Director, Jon Greaves observed - pragmatically – that “The compact size and the versatility of the MegaPointes was a clear development to the other moving lights we stocked.”

Impressed by the brightness and the sheer amount of effects and options of Robe MegaPointe luminaires gives designers, he commented: “In all, we’re very happy to add MegaPointes to our rental inventory.”

On working generally with The Chemical Brothers and their team, he stated: “We were so pleased to be working again with a production that puts so much time, effort, consideration – and a not unsubstantial amount of cash – into creating their perfect show.”

Lighting for the tour was operated by Thomas Deschandon who came onboard earlier in the year after meeting Production Manager James Baseley through his work as a Lighting Designer for French superstars, Indochine.

“MegaPointe is the best beam light on the market right now, it’s very lightweight and the colours are fantastic” he commented, also mentioning that it’s super quick – in movement and all the effects – and extremely easy to programme.

Lighting programming was a complex process, with an average of 200 lighting cues per song, and around 6,000 in total in the current show, which he operated using an MA Lighting grandMA2 console.

It’s clear from a short visit to the tour that the entire crew has the same mentality and dedication to making the show rock, and this as well as the evolution of the music and freshness of live shows keeps The Chemical Brothers right up there as one of the most popular live acts worldwide. TPi Photos: Louise Stickland www.thechemicalbrothers.com www.robe.cz

18